A genus of 23 species of sturdy, social monkeys. Apart from humans, macaques are the most widespread primates, from Japan to the Indian subcontinent, with the Barbary macaque in North Africa and Gibraltar. They mostly eat fruit and carry food in cheek pouches.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?Omnivore
Dangerous?Can be
Macaques bite and injure people in raids for food, and carry herpes B, rare in people but potentially fatal.
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?In places
At a glance
Found inAsia, Africa, Europe
HabitatRainforest, Forest
ColoursBrown, Grey
SizeMedium
LengthMales 41–70 cm (head and body)
WeightMales 5.5–18 kg, females 2.4–13 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives introops
Lives for25–30 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Asia from Japan to the Indian subcontinent; the Barbary macaque lives in North Africa and Gibraltar.
- What it eats
- Mainly fruit, plus seeds, leaves, flowers and bark; some also eat insects, shellfish and small mammals.
Did you know
Japanese macaques sit out the winter in volcanic hot springs.
Japanese macaques live farther north, and in a colder climate, than any other non-human primate.
A rhesus macaque named Tetra, born in 1999, was the first cloned primate.
Often confused with
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